The Bay Boy (1984)

THE BAY BOY is director Daniel Petrie's semiautobiographical account of growing up in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, a remote Canadian mining village, during the Great Depression. Kiefer Sutherland makes his film debut as Donald Campbell, a sensitive teenage boy coming-of-age and unsure of his future. His mother (Liv Ullman) wants him to continue his education and become a priest, but Donald is more interested in girls than the bible. He spends his time helping his father (Peter Donat) with a money-making venture, while caring for his sickly older brother and chasing his crush, Saxon Coldwell (Leah Pisent), a beautiful next-door neighbor. Donald lives a hard-working but happy life in his quaint hometown, surrounded by old friends and family. But one night he witnesses a heinous crime by a public figure and speaking out might endanger his family and his relationship with the man's daughters. Petrie's sensitive and nostalgic vision of his charming and picturesque boyhood home enhances the mood and spirit of the film, delighting in the daily lives of the eccentric local color and tight-knit families. The movie was filmed entirely on location in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia.